Thermal Physics (NEED TO ADD RP) Flashcards
Internal energy
The sum of the randomly distributed kinetic energies and potential energies of the particles in a body
KE + PE
What causes the kinetic energy in the molecules all substances
The speed of the molecules
What causes the potential energy in the molecules of all substances
The separation between the molecules
What does the amount of KE and PE a substance contains depend on
Its phase of matter (solid, liquid or gas)
Why do all particles have different speeds and separations
The particles are randomly distributed
What is the internal energy of a system determined by
Temperature - high temp = high KE
Random motion of molecules
Phase - gases have highest internal energy
Intermolecular interactions between particles
How can the internal energy of a system be increased
Doing work on it
Adding thermal energy to it (heating it)
How can the internal energy of a system be decreased
Losing thermal energy to its surroundings
Changing state from a gas to a liquid or liquid to solid
During a change of state what happens to the different energies of the particles
The potential energies of the particle ensemble are changing but NOT the kinetic energies
First law of thermodynamics
The internal energy of a system is increased when energy is transferred to it by heating or when work is done on it
Which situations does the first law of thermodynamics apply to
ALL situations not only gases
What happens to the internal energy of the gas and why, when a gas expands
Work is done by the gas on the surroundings and this decreases the internal energy of the gas
What happens to the internal energy of a gas and why, when a gas is compressed
Work is done on the gas by the surroundings and this increases the internal energy of the gas
What happens when a piston moves down on the cylinder containing a gas
It compresses the gas, work is done on the gas
The molecules are pushed closer together
Therefore, they have higher kinetic energy as they move faster
This increases the internal energy of the gas
What happens when a piston moves up a cylinder containing a gas
It expands the gas, work is done by the gas
The molecules are spread further apart
Therefore, they have lower kinetic energy as they move slower
This decreases the internal energy of the gas
How does heating the gas increase the internal energy by the same amount as doing work
Increasing the temperature of the gas means the molecules move around faster.
Therefore they have higher kinetic energy and increased internal energy
How does the number of molecules in the container change if the gas is expanding or contracting
IT DOESN’T. Number of molecules in the container ALWAYS stays the same
Specific heat capacity of a substance
The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of a substance by 1 degrees C without a change of state
Equation for specific heat capacity
Change in thermal energy = mass of substance being heated x specific heat capacity of substance x change in temp
How does heating and cooling of a substance vary with its specific heat capacity
Low specific heat capacity = Heats and cools down quickly as less energy needed to change its temp
High specific heat capacity = Heats and cools down slowly
What piece of equipment can be used to find the specific heat capacity of a fluid
A continuous-flow calorimeter
How does a continuous flow calorimeter work
A fluid flows continuously over a heating element where energy is transferred to the fluid.
It is assumed the heat transferred from apparatus to surroundings is constant
What variables are changed and kept constant in the continuous flow calorimeter experiment
Flow rate and pd is changed
Change in temperature of the fluid is constant
How to find mass of fluid in a continuous flow calorimeter
Record the flow rate
Multiple flow rate by the time taken to give the mass of the fluid that flows in as m1
How to find the electrical energy supplied to the fluid for the first flow rate in time t
current(1) x voltage(1) x time(1) = Q(1) = m(1) x c x change in temp + energy lost
What is the temperature change when a substance changes state
There is NO temperature change
Latent heat
The thermal energy required to change the state of 1kg of mass of a substance without any change of temperature
2 types of latent heat
Specific latent heat of fusion - melting a solid or freezing a liquid
Specific latent heat of vaporisation - vaporising a liquid or condensing a gas
What do the flat sections on a temp/heat supplied graph represent
The latent heats of ….
Equation for specific latent heat
Amount of thermal energy to change state = mass of substance changing state x latent heat of ….